Highway work is slated to last the rest of the month on North Main Street between Second and Third streets.

Jeffrey Lehman, city public works director, said the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities is working on the west side of the street to replace a water main that broke last year. In October 2015, a BPU 10-inch water main broke between Second and Third streets, which damaged the highway’s subbase. The break caused a portion of North Main Street to heave as water was seen bubbling through several cracks in the surface before crews were able to turn the water off in the area.

”Because it’s a water main break, the BPU is doing the road repair,” Lehman said. ”They’re looking at the remainder of the month. That is what is being estimated to replace the water line and repave the road.”

Lehman said BPU crews will repave the western half of the highway this year, with the plan to do the rest of the road work in conjunction with the county’s Main Street Bridge project next year. Last month, Lex Brumagin, Chautauqua County engineer III, said bids from contractors will be opened toward the end of July for the bridge reconstruction project. He said it is difficult to know how long the bridge construction will take prior to accepting a bid. However, he added that he believes the construction company will be able to start the bridge project this fall, but won’t finish until the summer of 2017.

Lehman said work on the west side of the street started this year because of the rough shape of the road. With part of the subbase being damaged when the water main broke, the road conditions between Second and Third streets has shifted because of the weight of vehicles, which causes depressions in the road.

”The section (they’re repairing) this year was settling so bad it made more sense to do the repair this year,” Lehman said.

Last year before winter started, Lehman said the highway could continue to shift as freezing and thawing conditions happen throughout the winter and early spring. He said last winter’s mild conditions probably did help the highway hold shape. However, he added that once again, highway conditions could decline during the winter ahead.

”The remaining portion of the road, we could have more issued to deal with,” he said.

The BPU announced Thursday that the BPU Water Division would shut off water on North Main between Second and Third streets and on Third Street between Cherry and North Main streets to install a valve for the new water main project. After the valve is installed and water is restored, water in the downtown area may appear discolored for 12-24 hours.